By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, November 27, 2015
Blown out for two sets, David Goffin roared back to subdue Kyle Edmund and stake host Belgium to a 1-0 lead over Great Britain in the Davis Cup final.
Photo credit: Paul Zimmer/Davis Cup
Blown out for two sets by an opponent bullying him around the court, David Goffin dug in and staged the fiercest fight-back of his career.
Goffin subdued a weary Kyle Edmund, 3-6, 1-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-0, to complete his first career comeback from two sets down and stake Belgium to a 1-0 lead over Great Britain in the Davis Cup final on the red clay of Ghent.
Video: Juan Martin del Potro Finally Hits Backhands
"It was not easy," said Goffin. "It was tough for me to find my timing. If Kyle continued playing like he was, I would have said well done. But I knew if I found my timing, I had a small chance.
"He was really aggressive in the first two sets with his forehand. That is why he won the first two sets."
Contesting its first Davis Cup final in 111 years, Belgium learned what you don't know can hurt you.
In his Davis Cup debut, the 20-year-old Edmund played with the poise of a veteran hitting heavy forehands to surge out to a 5-0 lead.
Intensity was evident in the opening game. Edmund staved off a pair of break points battling through a 12-minute hold. Hammering his forehand crosscourt to push the Belgian into the doubles alley, Edmund broke at 15 for 2-0.
The first man to make his Davis Cup debut in a final since Feliciano Lopez 12 years ago, Edmund was not fazed by the moment or the Belgian crowd building a 3-0 lead. Punishing the Belgian's second serve, the world No. 100 drew a backhand error for a double-break lead at 4-0.
Holding set point at 5-0, Edmund did not hold back narrowly missing a forehand return. A diagonal forehand winner brought Edmund a second set point. This time, he thumped an ace down the middle closing a confident opening set in 45 minutes. The 20-year-old Briton cracked 10 more winners than Goffin with 10 of his 13 winners coming from his heavy forehand, while the tense Belgian committed 15 unforced errors.
The 16th-ranked Belgian tried settling in and extending rallies, but when Goffin missed the mark, Edmund had his third break of the day for a 2-1 second-set lead.
Fighting his nerves as well as his opponent's crackling forehand, Goffin put a timid second serve into net as Edmund earned another double-break lead for 4-1.
The slow red, clay court designed to grind down British No. 1 Andy Murray instead served as a sink hole for a rattled Goffin, who could not find his first serve and repeatedly scattered errors from both wings for two sets. Goffin, who served just 43 percent in the second set, clanked another double fault to end a horrid second set in which he committed 15 unforced errors compared to just two for the man in blue making his Davis Cup debut.
Edmund reeled off six straight games to snatch the 27-minute second set and hush the stunned home fans.
Playing points with more care and moving the ball around the court with more precision, Goffin coaxed an errant forehand breaking again for a 4-1 third-set lead. But the wiry Belgian still showed signs of unease with a sloppy error-strewn game as Edmund broke back for 2-4.
Spreading the court and stretching his opponent, Goffin scored his third straight break as Edmund began to lose a little bit of sting on his forehand which had been so sharp for two sets. Goffin exploited the lapse serving out the 35-minute third set with a firm "Allez!"
As his level continued to dip, Edmund began leaking more errors. A netted backhand gifted the first break of the fourth set and a 2-1 lead to Goffin.
Gnawing fatigue and a fired-up Goffin, who was landing his first serve and driving his backhand down the line with greater vigor both took a toll on the Brit. Goffin slashed a backhand down the line breaking for 4-1 as Edmund spent the ensuing changeover getting a calf massage. By that point, Edmund's movement was clearly labored while Goffin was dancing around the red clay with even more exuberance.
A weary Edmund was reduced to lunging for several shots rather than setting his feet and getting in position for the strike. His 15th unforced error of the set ended the set as Goffin forced the decider.
Down 0-30 in the first game of the decider, Goffin reeled off eight of the next nine points, cranking a backhand winner down the line to break for 2-0 and sending the red-clad Belgian fans into a chanting frenzy. A sweeping forehand swing volley sealed a love hold for 3-0. He never looked back, raising his Davis Cup singles record to 12-2, including a 5-1 mark on clay with a reverse singles match against British No. 1 Andy Murray looming on Sunday.